Cuckoo by Keren David - Revision history

Alex at 13:30, 4 January 2020

2020-01-04T13:30:43Z

Jill at 09:56, 13 March 2018

2018-03-13T09:56:58Z

Sue at 15:14, 27 July 2016

2016-07-27T15:14:20Z

Sue at 15:12, 27 July 2016

2016-07-27T15:12:06Z

Sue: Created page with "{{infobox |title=Cuckoo |sort= Cuckoo |author=Keren David |reviewer= Alex Mitchell |genre=Teens, Literary Fiction, General Fiction |summary= A well-written and gripping story..."

2016-07-27T15:11:27Z

Created page with "{{infobox |title=Cuckoo |sort= Cuckoo |author=Keren David |reviewer= Alex Mitchell |genre=Teens, Literary Fiction, General Fiction |summary= A well-written and gripping story..."

New review

{{infobox
|title=Cuckoo
|sort= Cuckoo
|author=Keren David
|reviewer= Alex Mitchell
|genre=Teens, Literary Fiction, General Fiction
|summary= A well-written and gripping story about how fame doesn't always equal happiness.
|rating=5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=No
|pages=272
|publisher=Atom
|date=August 2016
|isbn= 9780349002354
|website=http://kerendavid.com/a-cover-for-cuckoo/
|video=CHECKED
|amazonuk=<amazonuk> 0349002355 </amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus> 0349002355</amazonus>
}}

Jake is a household name thanks to his role on the UK's most popular soap opera.

But his character went upstairs to his bedroom six months ago and never came down again, and now Jake is facing an uncertain future. Add to that his dad's anger issues, the family's precarious finances and the demands of a severely autistic brother; Jake's home feels like a powder keg waiting to explode.

It's easier to spend nights on friends' sofas and futons, but what happens when you feel like a cuckoo in every nest?

The structure of the story is quite unique. It is set out as what seems to be a transcript of a web series, created by Jake. The dialogue is not laid out in prose form, as such, but instead is more like a transcript. Each chapter is called an 'episode' instead, and has the cast of Market Square portraying either people Jake interacts with or themselves. At the end of most of the chapters is the comments section, in which fans of the series or characters in the books comment on the videos, and occasionally hurl abuse at each other (as is the way with the internet).

Our protagonist is Jake Benn, a former star of Market Square (an Eastenders-style soap opera), who is going through massive challenges in his personal life, struggling to balance work and school, and living in a financially precarious family. His father Neil, who has been out of a job for three months, has terrible anger and stress problems, which are exacerbated by his son's floundering career. His brother Adam, who has severe autism and requires near constant looking after, certainly doesn't help. So James ends up relying on friends and fellow cast members in order to shelter him until everything blows over at home.

Overall, this is a well-written and gripping tale of teen fame, teen homelessness and isolation.

Further reading:

[[Being Billy by Phil Earle]] – a slightly darker story of the challenges of being a teenager<br>
[[Unbecoming by Jenny Downham]] – a similar tale of struggling to balance school with personal problems.

{{amazontext|amazon=0349002355}}
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 |isbn= 9780349002354
 |website=http://kerendavid.com/a-cover-for-cuckoo/
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-Jake is a household name thanks to his role on the UK's most popular soap opera.
+Jake Benn is a rising star thanks to his role on Market Square, an EastEnders-style soap opera. However, after his character is seemingly written out of the show, Jake is now facing an uncertain future. In addition to his father's anger issues, the family's financial troubles and the demands of his mentally handicapped brother, Jake's home life feels like it's about to implode.
-But his character went upstairs to his bedroom six months ago and never came down again, and now Jake is facing an uncertain future. Add to that his dad's anger issues, the family's precarious finances and the demands of a severely autistic brother; Jake's home feels like a powder keg waiting to explode.
+It may be easier to spend his nights on friends' sofas, but when you feel like a cuckoo in every nest, how can you retain a sense of belonging?
 The structure of the story is quite unique. It is set out as what seems to be a transcript of a web series, created by Jake. The dialogue is not laid out in prose form, as such, but instead is more like a transcript. Each chapter is called an 'episode' instead, and has the cast of Market Square portraying either people Jake interacts with or themselves. At the end of most of the chapters is the comments section, in which fans of the series or characters in the books comment on the videos, and occasionally hurl abuse at each other (as is the way with the internet).

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+{{infobox2
 |title=Cuckoo
 |author=Keren David
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 |website=http://kerendavid.com/a-cover-for-cuckoo/
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+|aznuk=0349002355
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+|aznus=B01CDA1UOY
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 |video=
 |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0349002355</amazonuk>
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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{infobox
 |title=Cuckoo
 |author=Keren David
 |reviewer= Alex Mitchell
-|genre=Teens, Literary Fiction, General Fiction
+|genre=Teens
 |summary= A well-written and gripping story about how fame doesn't always equal happiness.
 |rating=5
@@ Line 14: / Line 13: @@
 |isbn= 9780349002354
 |website=http://kerendavid.com/a-cover-for-cuckoo/
-|video=CHECKED
+|video=
-|amazonuk=<amazonuk> 0349002355 </amazonuk>
+|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0349002355</amazonuk>
-|amazonus=<amazonus> 0349002355</amazonus>
+|amazonus=<amazonus>0349002355</amazonus>
 }}